ISLAMABAD, Feb 18 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Friday said those responsible for the killing of Chinese engineers would get "harshest punishment" and expressed the confidence the incident would not affect the strong bonds of friendship between Pakistan and China. "We are determined to catch them and give them harshest punishment," President Musharraf told a group of Chinese journalists here at a panel interview.

He described the perpetrators who killed the three Chinese engineers working on a development project on Wednesday in Hub, as those wanting to create misunderstandings between Pakistan and China. President Musharraf who will be leaving on a five-day visit to China from Feb 19 said the incident had "a degree of souring effect", but was confident that such elements would never succeed in their designs.

"Our strong friendship with China will not be affected and we will be able to suppress these elements," he added. He said China was helping Pakistan in numerous development projects and help the country progress. "They targeted the Chinese to deny progress in Pakistan and create misunderstandings between the two countries." He said Pakistan and China were closely-knit friends and their ties covered a vast spectrum. He said the people of Pakistan have a deep friendly relationship with the Chinese and were treated warmly across the country.

The development projects would sustain the economic activity in the country, alleviate poverty, end unemployment and help fight the curse of extremism, he added. To a question, President Musharraf said Pakistan would intensify its cooperation with China in the war against terrorism. He said the two countries were sharing intelligence and were on board to fight the menace. He said Pakistan had taken steps to curb extremism even before 9/11 and said its role will remain unchanged.